


If All Else Remained

by stellarparallax



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Butterfly Effect, Established Relationship, Inspired by Life Is Strange, Kissing, M/M, Multiverse, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-27 18:16:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18197666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarparallax/pseuds/stellarparallax
Summary: Once-sturdy walls fall to this roaring wind--Pushing us, pulling us, tearing us apart.I can barely see your eyesThrough the violent squall between us.We could let ourselves fallBut who’s to say what’s beneath us?~Written for Hurricane Zine with the theme "Storm"





	If All Else Remained

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as part of Hurricane Zine for the theme "Storm"
> 
> Artists for this fic: [Fell](https://twitter.com/fellfromtheskys) and [33-ko](https://twitter.com/3ko_miko)

“Wait.”

Vexation flashed in Shiro’s eyes as he turned to face Keith. He waited silently as Keith ran towards him from behind the control panel, where the gears of the reality-jumping system were turning. Behind him, he could hear the whirring steam turbine that powered the machine.

“You can’t see the damage you’re doing yet but—” Keith’s voice rang with desperation.

“I don’t want to hear a lecture, least of all from someone who betrayed those who raised him to save one person.”

“Shiro...”

“I hope your mother is doing well, because I’m certain that Terrestria isn’t.”

“Because you’re so much better? You were supposed to test the reality-jumping capabilities and in return, the Galra wouldn’t conquer Terrestria. But what have you done instead? Alter the realities for some half-baked rescue mission.”

“I don’t have a choice!” Shiro spat out.

“And I do?” Keith’s voice held no anger, only confusion.

Shiro inhaled sharply, then averted his gaze.

“Was there anything else you had to say to me?” Shiro muttered.

“Come back safe.”

Shiro nodded, turning around to face the portal. Soothed by the predictable clattering noises of Keith’s footsteps towards the control panel of the machine, he closed his eyes. He then took a deep breath and said, ”On your command.”

The buzzer indicating that the machine was ready rang shrill. With that, Shiro stepped into the portal.

It happened like it always did. He’d recall a cluster of memories from his past in what he could only describe as a dream-like manner. Afterwards, he’d wake up in the body of a parallel version of himself—just like the past few hundred times.

Being a few years older than Lance meant that Shiro knew him since the second he was born. He vividly remembered giggling as he touched Lance’s rosy cheek. Lance’s mother told him that he teared up when Lance wrapped his tiny fingers around his pinkie.

After, he dreamt of the day he realised that he was in love with him. Lance had just turned twenty at the time. It was only two years prior, but it felt like an eternity ago.

 

* * *

 

Shiro awoke in cold sweat. Taking in his surroundings, he noticed the off-white organza curtains fluttering in the breeze that entered through the open windows. The furniture looked old, but well kept. It was too sparse to be a home; it was more likely a hotel.

He searched for clues to the kind of life this Shiro led. He glanced over at the nightstand and found what Keith called a “cell phone”. He pressed on the button at the bottom of the screen and watched it light up with the words “Enter Passcode”. Beneath those words were the numbers zero to nine.

“I’m stuck. The cell phone requires a passcode.”

“Leave it. You just need to make the observations as per my instructions, then come back.”

“Oh, I know — Lance’s birthday!”

“Shiro, are you even listening to me?” He could hear the exasperation in Keith’s voice, but he chose to ignore it.

Shiro dialed the numbers 2-8-0-7. The lock screen faded, revealing rows and columns of squares with different pictures in them. He tapped on the one that was green and was labeled “Message”. He saw “Lance” and proceeded to tap on it.

_So excited to see you on the 5th! -Lance_

_Hey! You haven’t been replying to any of my messages. Was wondering if you forgot about me hahaha -Lance_

_I haven’t been on a plane in a while. Can’t wait to kiss you at the airport :3c -Lance_

It was just like every other reality. Shiro left to go elsewhere while Lance stayed home. They planned to meet somewhere and then something would happen—an accident, an attack, a murder. Before he could do anything, he would get sucked back to his own reality.

“Keith,” Shiro’s voice cracked, “I need… I need to stop Lance from getting on that plane.”

“No, you are not doing this _again_ , Shiro!” Keith yelled through the communicator.

“Keith, please. He’s all that I have. I need to see him once more.”

“I’m sorry, I really am. But you’ve missed your chance. This is crazy. You can’t keep doing this”

“Keith,” Shiro spoke, desperately fighting back tears. “Please.”

“Listen to me, Shiro, please. You stopping Lance from getting on this plane in this reality isn’t going to stop Lance from getting on that train to Olkarion. It won’t stop him from dying from the Galra attack. It does, however, have the risk of causing a storm of all of the damaged timelines,” Keith spat out, “Shiro, do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”

Shiro’s thoughts drowned out Keith’s voice. He found a folder in the phone filled with photograph after photograph of Lance. He looked so much like _his_ Lance—stunning blue eyes, dark hair cropped short. Every version of Lance he met was different, yet so similar.

He stopped at a photo where a gossamer-wing had landed on Lance’s nose. He always did like butterflies, especially the blue ones. The expression he wore was the same one he did when Shiro had told him that he was in love with him.

Shiro had taken about an hour of beating around the bush to finally admit it. Lance laughed and said that he had been feeling the same way for years, but he always thought that Shiro had eyes for someone else. They kissed for the first time in the shade of the lemon tree, where they used to rest after an afternoon of running around when they were children.

Later that month, Shiro was drafted for the war.

“Do you ever wonder why I keep ending up right at this point, right before the incidents?”

“Can you spot any time-warped fields on your probe?”

“Perhaps there’s a reason for that. Perhaps I’m meant to save him. Perhaps fate doesn’t just give you one chance.”

“How about era-incongruent relics? Do you see them anywhere?”

“Lance should be dead in every reality I go to. That was what that portal was built for. It wasn’t made to send me back in time, and yet it did. Maybe I’m meant to save Lance.”

The silence that came from the other end was chilling.

“I’ve tried to get through to you, but you won’t listen. Go ahead and try to to save him, like you did all the other times. Let the world get destroyed. Let them kill my mother.”

With a click, Keith’s voice was gone. Shiro was all alone.

Suddenly, the phone emitted a strange tune. Shiro typed in the passcode once more and clicked on the incoming message.

_Could you be a dear and reply to Lance? He’s been worried. -Hunk_

Shiro tapped on the empty space and started typing.

_I can’t explain it, but I have a bad feeling about the plane that Lance will be boarding. I’m begging you, please stop him from getting on that plane. -Shiro_

_What sort of bad feeling? He’s leaving the apartment for the airport in fifteen minutes. -Hunk_

_I know this doesn’t make any sense, but I need you to believe me. Please -Shiro_

_… Okay, I’ll hide his passport. But you better fly back ASAP and do some explaining. -Hunk_

Setting the phone down, Shiro began packing. He didn’t know what belonged to this Shiro and what belonged to the hotel, but he figured it wouldn’t matter once he saw Lance. All he had to do was find a way to get on a plane back home.

He was drenched in cold sweat. He decided that he could wait until after a shower to make the arrangements. After all, the most important part was over. Lance would be safe. Everything after was just details.

He peeled off the clothes that were sticking to his body and walked towards the bathroom. Fumbling with the nozzles, he finally found the right one and stepped under the water.

Suddenly, his head started to spin and his vision blurred. He propped himself against the wall for support, trying to steady himself enough to get out of the shower. Warm liquid trickled into his mouth and he tasted what definitely wasn’t water. It tasted like iron. Red.

Black.

 

* * *

 

“Shiro?”

He remembered this. He had run across the countryside through a downpour to get to Lance’s cottage. Even in the darkness and heavy rain, he saw where he was going so clearly. He could have found his way there blind.

Since his parents’ deaths, he spent a lot of time in Lance’s family compound. As he got older, he took on the responsibilities of running the family business and his visits became less frequent. Usually, he didn’t have a reason to be there. That time he did.

“Lance,” he whispered, “I… I got…”

Lance bit his lip. “I heard.”

“It’s going to be fine. We’re going to go together. It’s going to be difficult, but we’ll have each other.”

Lance’s eyes didn’t meet his.

“Shiro, my mother is sick.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for not calling beforehand. I’ll get out of your hair so you can go back to taking care of her. She’s a strong woman. She’ll recover quick—”

“Shiro,” Lance cut him off, “She’s really sick—exemption from the draft sick.”

Shiro had been standing in the rain, but it was only in that moment that the chill reached his core.

“We can meet somewhere… Someplace neutral… Olkarion,” Lance offered gently, “We’ll do it often. It’ll be like you never left and I never stayed. I’ll even bring you your favourite—”

Shiro bent down and pressed his lips against Lance’s. Lance took a step back, having been caught off-guard.

“Your face is wet,” Lance remarked.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

Lance pulled Shiro towards him by his raincoat, hesitated, then reached up for another kiss. Shiro’s face was ice-cold apart from the heat of his breath and the tears streaming down his face. Their lips were quivering harder each second until they had no choice but to break away. They parted, but only for a moment before they fell into each other’s arms.

They would have to get out of the rain quickly if they didn’t want to fall ill, but neither of them wanted to move.

“Shiro…”

“I’ll never forget you,” Shiro solemnly promised.

“SHIRO!”

That wasn’t Lance’s voice.

Shiro jolted awake, almost bumping his forehead against Keith’s.

He looked around and realised that everything looked different. There had been so many tiny changes since the experiments first began that it only just occurred to him it wasn’t all upgrades—it was damage. The machines that surrounded them were dented and rusty. The tremors he felt told him that the structure had been damaged.

“Keith...” His voice came out scratchy. “What happened?”

Keith clenched his jaw. “I… I think there’s something you need to see.”

Keith stood up and walked towards the entrance of the laboratory. Shiro hesitated, but soon followed suit.

As they stepped out of the laboratory, Shiro realised that the room had been shielded from harm. The exterior walls of the building had gaping holes and the windows had been shattered. When the wind changed direction, it blew rainwater onto his face. He flinched before approaching the broken window. Once there, he peered out of it, gasping.

If the Galra Headquarters had once been surrounded by forest, it certainly wasn’t anymore. For miles, all Shiro could see was destruction and decay. Fallen trees spanned the landscape, barely illuminated by the faint beams of light that managed to pass through the dark clouds. Right in the middle of it all was a cyclone spiralling fiercely, threatening to uproot whatever trees remained standing.

“Did you know that it would be this bad?” Shiro faltered.

“I did.”

“Why didn’t you stop me?”

“I thought I could find a way to minimise the damage. I tried, I really did.” Tears were welling up in Keith’s eyes. “It was a choice between keeping the universe intact and staying away from the only person left in it that mattered to you, Shiro. I couldn’t make that choice for you.”

As the wind picked up and changed direction once more, Shiro felt the air get knocked out of him.

“Can we fix it?”

Keith looked away.

“Keith, can we—”

“I found a way to seal the rift in the space-time continuum.”

“But…?”

“But it will render the portal unusable. You’ll…”

His eyes widened. “Never get to see Lance ever again.”

Keith paused, then nodded.

Shiro exhaled sharply.

When he was first captured by the Galra, he’d made his peace with never seeing Lance ever again. Then somehow, in a strange twist of fate, he got to see hundreds of renditions of him in the many realities where they never stayed together. If it hadn’t been clear before, it was clear now that there wasn’t a reality that the universe had room for the both of them.

“It’s not fair,” he muttered.

“Shiro…”

“I know it’s childish and selfish for me to say that, but… it’s the truth!” he shouted, choking back tears.

“I know,” Keith replied solemnly.

Lightning struck the ground near them, causing a tree to fall and send tremors throughout the building. Shiro stumbled and collapsed. Pain erupted from the side of his head as it hit the floor. He tried to check on Keith, but the corners of his vision darkened.

_“Could you kill someone?” Lance asked._

_“I don’t know,” he replied._

_“What if you had to do it to protect someone? What if you had to do it to protect me?”_

_“I’d do anything to protect you.”_

_“Promise me something, Shiro?”_

_“What is it?”_

_“If you ever have a choice between my life and someone else’s, let me go.”_

“Shiro!” Keith shook him awake.

Looking past him, Shiro spotted a gossamer-wing fluttering above them. He followed it with his eyes as it flew around the laboratory, before finally settling on the portal. His eyes glistened as the corners of his mouth twitched.

Taking in a deep breath, Shiro decided. “Do it.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s… it’s what Lance would have wanted.”

 

* * *

 

It felt strange being back in Terrestria.

Since sealing the rift and leaving the Galra headquarters, Shiro, Keith and Krolia had been living in Olkarion. It was a far cry from its former glory, but those who survived the attack had been slowly rebuilding it. Soon, Shiro thought, it would be the bustling nation that it once was. Until then, he was happy enough to help with the restoration effort.

Having had their headquarters—which not only housed their reality-jumping system but also their energy stores—destroyed, the Galra had been severely weakened. They put up a good fight till the very end, but they eventually surrendered. Their submission brought the sovereignty of all the lands they once conquered and exploited, including Terrestria.

Shiro contemplated returning home, but it wasn’t like it mattered either way. There wouldn’t be anyone waiting for him. Perhaps it was best that he stayed in Olkarion and started his new life.

Despite his reservations, he found himself on a train to Terrestria that very day. The leader of Olkarion had requested for someone to collect the blueprints for the new buildings from an architect residing in Terrestria. Nobody but Shiro and Keith had even been to Terrestria, so they volunteered to go.

As their train pulled to a stop, all he felt was dread.

“They seem to be doing well,” Keith said.

“Yes. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get out of here as quickly as possible.”

“I understand. Let’s just head over to Coran’s and… Shiro?”

Keith turned and saw Shiro rooted where he stood, mesmerised by the sight of a kaleidoscope of butterflies flying past him. He began running after it, moving faster the further it got. It was like he completely forgot why he was even in Terrestria in the first place.

As he weaved in and out of the crowd, through the train station and out into the streets, all Shiro saw was the swarm flying ahead of him. They seemed to be leading him somewhere; someplace important. He didn’t know where that was, but he felt compelled to follow them regardless.

Eventually, he lost track of the swarm amidst the chaos. For a reason unknown to him, he felt a sinking feeling in his gut from losing sight of them. He searched his surroundings, desperate to find even one of those butterflies again. Finally, he found one that had landed on the canopy of a flower shop.

Curious, he stepped in, the shopkeeper’s bell ringing as he pushed the door open.

It had been a while since he’d been in a flower shop. It had been a while since he saw so much beauty. However, it wasn’t the flowers, as pretty as they were, that bewitched him. He gasped.

“Hello! Welcome to— Shiro?”

“Lance,” he said like a prayer.

“I thought,” Lance breathed as he walked out from behind the counter, “I thought you died from the attack at Olkarion.”

“I thought the same of you.”

“I didn’t get there in time. There was a hailstorm that destroyed part of the tracks. By the time I got there, there was nothing left of Olkarion apart from a few locals. I… I asked them about you and…” He looked away as his face reddened.

“ _Shhh_ , I’m here now,” Shiro whispered and cupped Lance’s face in his hands.

Shiro touched his forehead against Lance’s, taking deep breaths as he tried to tell himself that it wasn’t another dream, a vision, an alternate. It was Lance, _his_ Lance, and he was shuddering as he cried softly.

His arms wrapped around Lance’s back, pulling him closer and closer. It was fierce, almost aggressive and definitely desperate. Rationally, he knew Lance was there and real but he just had to be sure. As they kissed, the past two years of pain and longing that burdened Shiro was finally lifted from his shoulders.

Life never gave him many options, but leaving Lance again would never be the one he’d choose.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading to the end of the fic! 
> 
> This has been kept under wraps for almost a year now, and I'm glad that I finally get to post it. It's one of the fics that I'm proudest of and I hope that you liked it!  
> The title "If All Else Remained" was taken from the quote _“If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.”_ by Emily Brontë , Wuthering Heights. 
> 
> **If you were interested, I also had a playlist to get me into the mood while writing! The songs were:**  
>  Gunslinger by Avenged Sevenfold  
> Spanish Sahara by Foals  
> Dark Paradise by Lana Del Rey  
> Antoinette Blue by Nana Kitade  
> Sparkle by RADWIMPS
> 
> If you purchased a copy of Hurricane Zine, I would like to extend my gratitude for supporting this project. A lot of love and care was put into it and I hope that you enjoyed it!
> 
> As always, come yell at me [@artparallax](https://twitter.com/artparallax) (twitter)


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